Proposed Arizona bill looks to protect missing Indigenous people

PHOENIX — An Arizona bill that would activate the Emergency Alert System when an Indigenous person goes missing has reached the state Senate.

HB2281 passed unanimously in the Arizona House and allows an alert to be sent out for anyone who disappears under suspicious circumstances.

If passed by the Senate and signed by the governor, the bill would allow law enforcement to ask the Department of Public Safety to issue alerts for Native and non-Native Arizonans of any age.

State Rep. Teresa Martinez, the bill’s sponsor, said the goal is to protect Indigenous people, especially Native women and girls, who go missing at a disproportionate rate.  

Amber Alerts sound the alarm when a child goes missing and Silver Alerts notify the media when a senior goes missing. Martinez said this system would allow the same type of alert to be sent out regardless of age or tribal status.

She believes this could have saved 14-year-old Emily Pike, whose dismembered remains were found north of Globe on Feb. 14. The San Carlos Apache teenager was reported missing from her Mesa group home at the end of January.

Martinez questioned why an Amber Alert was not sent out when Pike first went missing.

“I think what happened to that young girl, can you imagine? It breaks my heart,” Martinez said.  

Gila River Indian Community Gov. Stephen Roe Lewis asked Martinez to sponsor the legislation. Martinez believes Native women and girls go missing and are murdered at a higher rate for two reasons.

First, because tribal reservations are in remote areas with fewer people to witness the crime compared to suburban areas.

“They’re out in a remote area of the state,” Martinez said. “There’s nobody around, why not just take them?”  

And second, she believes there is a disconnect between tribal law enforcement and state and federal law enforcement agencies.  

“I think that the agencies, the Bureau of Indian Affairs, I don’t think that they run efficiently. And I think that the reason that they’re targeted is because they’re easy prey,” Martinez said.  

If passed, she believes the legislation will save lives.

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